Trauma comes in all shapes and sizes. It can ride in on the waves of a tsunami and destroy everything materially and emotionally vital to a child, their family and their community in an instant. It can blast through the barrel of a gun. Or it can creep up slowly through fear, abuse, insecurity or the neglect of important relationships at home and at school.
However it presents itself, the cost of trauma in our communities extends far beyond the physical price to its victims. Its presence generates a cycle of violence and a culture of fear, and poses a direct threat to the healthy emotional development of our children and the sustainment of peaceful communities.
